About TerryTheTrainer

Terry Williams is a certified strength & conditioning specialist (NSCA CSCS) with a Master of Education degree in Health & human performance. When Terry isn't working as a personal trainer in private sessions or instructor in group exercise classes, he is hard at work writing. Through professional and published writing formats such as LIVESTRONG.com and Houston Trend Magazine, he imparts practical tips that help everyone, from joes to pros. Recently, Terry picked up a new venture, partnering with digital media guru Quincy Jones III and his FeelRich movement to advance health and wellness via social media formats, such as tweets and web video. To capture Terry's more personal and informal work, follow his blog at TerryTheTrainer.com and his twitter @TerryTheTrainer.

First and foremost, here’s the article that I referenced during the show called “Don’t Quit Your Day Job”. Below, you’ll find tonight’s show focusing on fitness and health in the Black community. If you missed the live show or if you just want to listen to it again, it’s all yours. We hit you with a lot of good information, so be sure to listen and apply it to your life. We’ll catch y’all next Monday at 10 PM for another episode of ThreadRadio!

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As a fitness professional, all too often I hear people speak on how they hope to drop a certain number of lbs. and expect to achieve this by some certain date for an event or vacation. These goals can be healthy in so far as they are motivators, however, they can be just as unhealthy in that they negate the fact the you didn’t rush the initial weight gain!

Unattainable goals berthed in psychological error. We need logic here! Nobody hurriedly rushes to meet a goal of producing body fat, but then we all crash the fitness center at the first of the year demanding for all we spent decades building to disappear in a matter of weeks. What’s my point here? Patience is a virtue. As cliché as that may sound, it’s true, backed by science. And it’s the reason the only way you can truly get a rock-hard 6-pack in six weeks is to see Doctor 90210 and blow a few grand.

Now that we’ve digested reality, let’s take a refreshing look at how you can keep yourself focused. A simple analogy: Don’t quit your day job, has been a driving force in motivating me to relentlessly pursue fitness.

Think about it like this: Saying “If I don’t drop this 20 lbs. in the next six weeks, I quit” is pretty unfair to you. 20 lbs is a massive accomplishment (Congrats to all who have pulled this one off!) and you’re essentially saying that if you don’t see a miracle overnight, you’re tapping out. Think about your day job, that place you love to hate. You show up day after day to play your role. You can likely name a few people who deter you from your goals or make you want to quit: The human resources chick who watches you like a hawk, the lazy employer who delegates menial tasks you shouldn’t have to shoulder, etc. BUT even through all of this, you don’t say “If I don’t get a raise in the next six weeks, I quit”. Why is that? Because you can’t afford to quit. Even babysitting nagging adults while meeting tight deadlines in a cluttered cubical is better than the harsh reality you’d face with no income.

In the same way, you cannot afford to live a sedentary lifestyle. Research shows that physical activity reduces your risks of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, arthritis, osteoporosis… Oh! And helps you lose weight too. You can’t afford to continuously gain weight and risk disease.

So protect yourself by accepting fitness as your job, the role you must play through thick and thin. It is then, when we reset our focus, that we find our cosmetic goals being met. This comes as a reward for actual hard work! I hope this motivates you, inspired you, and keeps you focused! Let’s get on our jobs, Folks.

Closing thought: Fleeting resolution… or attainable, practical goal? Which will you choose?